Bessie Mae Newman Boyd was the youngest of four children and was born on March 17, 1927 to Frank and Marye (Harvey) Newman in St. Louis, MO. Being of a family with deep religious roots, she gave her life to Christ at an early age and was a member of St. Paul AME Church. She was educated in the St. Louis Public School District and attended Wilberforce College, the oldest private African-American university in the United States, located in Wilberforce, Ohio.
She married Nathaniel “Mickey” Boyd in 1948. One child was born of this union, Sheila Marye Boyd. Bessie worked as a fashion model and an administrative assistant for the United States Government and the St. Louis Public School District. She was very articulate, memorable and deeply dedicated to her family.
Our Lord and Savior called Bessie home after a brief illness on Saturday, January 28, 2012 to join those preceding her in death: her parents, Frank and Marye; her loving husband, Nathaniel; and both sisters, Thelma Holcomb and Nello Parker.
Left to mourn her passing is her daughter, Sheila Marye Moore; three grandchildren, Tammi T. (Fred) Moore Robinson, Terry T. Moore, and Steven T. Moore, Sr.; two great-grandchildren, Steven T. Moore, Jr. and Janai B. Robinson; her brother, Christopher W. Newman; a cherished niece, Veoris Holcomb Ezell and an innumerable host of cousins, nieces, nephews, sisters- and brothers-in-law, and devoted friends.
